


But One Fell Down

by biscuityskies



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Also a decent amount of angst though, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, And Jeongin, And then Lee Minho-centric, And then back to Changbin, Angst and Fluff, But they figure it out, Chan and Felix are brothers, Decent amounts of fluff, Established Seungjin, Except for Jisung, Felix has no self-esteem, Holy crap that was a lot of tags, Like, Like one of them almost dies sick, Look ma I made it, M/M, Minho and Woojin can drive, Minho thinks he’s straight at first, Minsung are in denial, Not that important but, Oh, Only for the first half, Plenty of swearing, Protec this boy, Seo Changbin-centric, Sick Fic, Slow Burn, Super sick, That’s never addressed though, The legendary AO3 tags, They’re all gay, Who’s bi, Who’s demi, Woojin and Seungmin are brothers, but like, established woochan, haha - Freeform, low key - Freeform, they’re all idiots, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 14:14:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15172466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biscuityskies/pseuds/biscuityskies
Summary: In which the relationships are holding strong through two days, some new, some older. But one falls down.





	But One Fell Down

**Author's Note:**

> Heya!! 
> 
> Before we get started, there’s a bit of a reference to blood. Like, a decent amount of blood. It’s toward the end, but I don’t have it marked, so if it’s not for you then stop reading at “Once situated, he pulled Felix close into a back hug until they were both asleep.”
> 
> If you stop reading there, you’ll have a nice ending lol 
> 
> My best friend and beta supreme (wow I’m sorry I made you sound like a Taco Bell meal), spacenicoo, is really mad at me for the ending but you know what I wiLL WRITE WHAT I WANT JEEZ 
> 
> Ily, don’t forget that
> 
>  
> 
> (Fic title is from Glow)

"Have you heard from Felix?" 

Changbin looked up at the mention of the name. Seungmin was talking to Jisung, but he was speaking rather loudly, as though he wanted the whole group of friends to hear him. 

"No," Woojin said from the kitchen, not taking his eyes off of the vegetables he was chopping. 

"Yes," Minho called as he entered the house, Hyunjin close behind him. He walked into the living room and threw his stuff down to collapse next to Seungmin, who in turn scooched onto Hyunjin's lap. "He's still at dance. He stayed late to work with the instructor."

"Brat!" Chan yelled. 

"...What?" Changbin asked, confused. "The fuck did Felix do to you?" 

"Not Felix. This little shit just stole my cheese stick!" Chan whipped the towel he was holding at Jeongin, who shrieked and ran out of the kitchen, still holding Chan's cheese stick. 

He hid behind Changbin like a three year old, physically keeping Changbin in front of him. Chan came out, twirling his towel into a dangerous weapon. 

Changbin cocked an eyebrow at Chan. "You wanna not?" 

"What I want is my cheese stick!" He lunged forward and pushed Jeongin backward, effectively also pushing Changbin forward and off of his comfortable spot on the couch. 

Changbin heaved a deep sigh and then relocated to the other side of the couch, away from the ongoing scuffle, which he silently observed. Jeongin was laying on his front, cradling the cheese stick to his chest while Chan practically sat on top of him, pushing him down further as he tickled the poor boy. Jeongin's screeches were so loud Changbin was sure they were going to get complaints from the neighbours. 

"Are you torturing the poor boy?" Woojin practically shouted over the top of the the extra noise. 

"YES!" Jeongin shrieked in reply. "Mom, help!" 

Changbin heard Woojin take in a deep breath and hold it for a count of five. As he let it out, Changbin knew. Scary Mom Mode had been activated. 

"Chan! Come help me with dinner again!" 

"I want my cheese stick back!" Chan kept tickling Jeongin, and from the maknae's shrieks, Changbin could tell Chan was close to winning. 

Woojin was closer still. "Jeonginnie, give your father back his cheese stick. If he's so butthurt about that one, you can come get a new one." 

"Are we really doing this right now?" Seungmin asked, still laying on Hyunjin's lap even as they were both scrolling through their phones. 

"Would you rather do it in an hour?" Jisung replied. 

"I mean...."

"The answer is no."

"Well I'd rather do it never, but. Whatever." Seungmin popped in an earbud, and handed the other one to Hyunjin, who took it without looking away from his phone. 

"Is nobody going to acknowledge the fact that Woojin just called Chan "your father"?" Minho snickered. "That's kinda weird." 

"Whoa, whoa!" Chan said as he turned to face him, towel in hand. "Who're you calling weird, you weirdo?" 

Jeongin shrieked and ran back to the kitchen while Chan was facing the other way, tossing the cheese stick over his shoulder. Chan kept advancing on Minho, with a predatory smirk on his face, holding his towel over his shoulder. 

"Hey, hey, hey, no, no thanks, please stop, Channnnn-hyungieeeee I'm sorryyyyyyy! AGH! MOM!" Minho finally shrieked, his hands up in surrender, curling into a ball as Jisung slid away from him to avoid being collateral damage. 

Woojin breathed another heavy sigh. "BANG BYUNGCHAN!" 

All movement ceased. Chan's smirk practically fell off of his face, replaced with a look of terror. "EW!" he shouted. 

"Come here." Woojin had his hands on his hips, no longer focusing on the vegetables. 

"Oooooh shiiiiiit, mom used dad's full name," Jisung whispered to Changbin, his breath tickling his ear. 

"Han Jisung! Watch your language!" Woojin yelled, still staring disappointedly at Chan with one eyebrow cocked. 

"Yes mom," Jisung replied meekly, sliding back toward Minho. 

Changbin hid his snicker with some difficulty at the total shift in Jisung's mood. Though he couldn't deny, Woojin could be scary, especially when in his current state specifically coined for that; Scary Mom Mode was still in effect. 

"Byungchan. I allow you in my house, I feed you, I let you sleep here, and what do you do? You piss in my bushes, you shit on my Persian rug, and you terrorise our children! Explain to me why I should let you stay." 

Chan, who had been looking at his feet with a pathetic frown, suddenly looked up with a cocky little smile on his face. "Because you love me?" 

There was a long ass pause. "You fucker. You're lucky that's true." 

"Awww, our parents are getting back together again, how sweet," Hyunjin said. 

"You little shit," Woojin replied, snorting with barely contained laughter, grabbing the towel from Chan's shoulder. 

"Mom, don't stoop to dad's level!"

"Hey!" Chan shouted in return, pulling another towel from the cupboard. 

"Why are you all here, anyway?" Seungmin asked from his spot on the couch. 

"Uh, because the school year just ended and we need to get up to our summer shenanigans?" Jisung replied. "At least, that's why I'm here. Your parents are never home and therefore that makes your house the best place for our HQ." 

"HQ? We better not be starting a gang or something." Minho looked up from his phone. 

"Aww, is hyungie scawed?" 

"You little—"

"Ohmygoshstoppit!" Woojin shouted, "or none of you are getting dinner!"

"What about me?" Hyunjin asked, raising his hand. 

"Ugh. You're fine. I couldn't keep my little brother's boyfriend out of the house, could I?" 

"Just as much as you could keep your own out," Chan said, leaning over Woojin to put the vegetables in the pan and stir them around. 

"How disgustingly domestic," Changbin commented. 

Chan squinted back. "Don't act like you and Felix don't do the same, you little shit." 

"I said watch your fucking language. Jesus." 

"Felix and I aren’t—"

"I gotta stop ya there, hyung. You two are almost worse than these lovebirds." 

"Traitor," Changbin muttered to Jeongin, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. 

"Nah, it's true," Seungmin chimed in. 

"I just came out to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now." 

"You and Felix are actually the worst. It's so cliché, the ray of sunshine and the edgy, grumpy jerk are a couple." 

"It's almost dinner time, kiddos," Woojin said before Changbin could say anything else. Not that he didn't try, but Woojin kept talking. 

"Set the table, Changbin, then we can talk."

"And here I thought it was Chan's kitchen," Changbin rolled his eyes. 

"You—"

"Oh, stop it, Chris." Woojin shoved a stack of bowls at his chest. "Set the table." 

"Oh, now it’s Chris?" Chan muttered even as he complied. 

It took the team, but they got the table set in less than ten minutes. As in it took them nine minutes to set the table. 

"Good job, idiot," Seungmin said when Woojin slid the potholder onto the table, which then proceeded to slide off. 

Changbin caught it before it hit the ground and threw it back down before Woojin put the hot pan on the table. 

"Emo kid to the rescue!" Jisung said. 

Changbin glared. "Just because I listen to harder bops doesn't mean I'm emo."

"And I quote, harder bops. Maybe you're not emo." 

Changbin squinted harder. 

"Mommm, he's glaring at meee!"

"Jesus fucking Christ I'm not your mother! The next person who calls me mom, I'm setting Chan loose on you with the towel." 

"Can we eat now?" 

"YES, Jeongin. Jesus." 

"Hyungs first!" Jeongin called. 

"Then what's the rush?" Hyungjin asked as Woojin filled his bowl. 

"Eh, the sooner you get your food, the sooner we can go play Overwatch," Jeongin shrugged. 

"I almost asked if you should be doing homework, lol," Jisung said. 

Changbin looked at him. "And I quote, lol." 

Minho snorted. "You actually said lol. I'm low key not surprised but at the same time I expected more from you."

"Do you want me to say lmfao next?" Jisung asked, leaning over the table. 

Minho leaned further away. "Oh, Jesus. You're a living meme."

"Hyung, get your food, I'm hungryyy!" 

"And I want to play Overwatch, Seungminnie, so hurry up." Hyunjin took his food next. 

"You just want to try to prove that you're still better at video games than Jeongin." 

"Is that a challenge?"

"Please don't let your boyfriend make any rash decisions, Seungmin-hyung." 

"Hang on, I still only count seven of you. Is Felix still not back?"

"I’M RIGHT HERE! WHAT'S UP, FUCKERS?"

"Why are you on my phone?" Changbin immediately replied. 

"FUCK YOU, THAT'S WHY!" Felix threw his bag down on the ground and slid into his seat, high-fiving Changbin on the way. "Hey mom, dad, kiddos. Sorry I'm late." Woojin smiled at him as he handed him a bowl. 

"Felix? You look terrible." 

And it was true. Felix had deep bags under his eyes, sweat still glistening on his temple, hair and clothes disheveled. But nothing was lost in his attitude. "Wow, and you look so much better, Minnie." 

"He does though," Hyunjin said, taking some noodles from his bowl. 

Felix pouted his already pouty lips. "Oh stop it, you're too whipped." 

"And you're not?" was the immediate response. 

Changbin cleared his throat, staring down at his bowl. He could feel his cheeks become warm, and he only hoped he wasn't as red as he figured he was. 

Felix turned to look at him, and then immediately down at his bowl as well. He slowly chewed some food and then looked back up at Hyunjin. "I don't know what you mean," he managed, even as his cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. 

"Oh, bullshit," Jeongin said, leaning forward to take his food at last. 

"Watch your fucking language," Woojin warned again. 

"Whoops, sorry hyung, but you know I'm right."

"And here I thought we had to protect this boy," Changbin said. 

"No, no, I said protec. No t at the end," Jisung cut in. 

"You're such a fucking meme." Minho squinted at him. "I can't tell if I like it or not."

"You gotta agree with me on this one."

"Okay," Minho said, and went back to his food. 

"...Whipped," Felix coughed into his hand. 

"Okay but—"

"Nope, we're not doing this again." Chan waved his chopsticks at Seungmin. "Just eat."

"You really are our parents, aren't you?" Felix asked. 

"Disregarding age, I would say that's true," Woojin replied tiredly. "I told you we should have stopped at two," he said to Chan. 

"Well that's kinda rude." Jeongin threw a piece of zucchini at Woojin. "I wouldn't be here if you stopped at two, would I?"

"God no, and neither would we," Chan replied, slapping the zucchini away and throwing a piece back. "We'd be in the Bahamas or somewhere nice." 

Jeongin let his mouth hang open for a bit, before shutting it and finishing his food in record time. "I'm playing Overwatch, hurry up Hyunjin-hyungie, I'm not waiting," he said as he put his bowl in the sink, glaring pointedly at Chan. 

"See what you've done now?" Woojin glared at Chan too. "I swear, I'm the only sensible person in this family. And that's saying something."

"I'm gonna go play Overwatch with the mochi," Felix said, bringing his bowl to the kitchen as well. "Anyone else?" 

"Coming," Hyunjin said. He finished his food and hurried to the spare room. 

Changbin and Seungmin looked at each other and shrugged. They continued eating as the door shut behind the gamers. 

There was a splash heard and some shrieks. 

Felix's voice was heard first. "Oh for fuck's—"

"THIS IS WHY MOM DOESN'T FUCKING LOVE YOU!" 

Woojin put his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking. 

Jeongin's laughter bounced down the halls, closely followed by the boy himself, while Hyunjin, now drenched in water, chased him. Felix trotted behind, laughing so hard he was bent over. 

"Oh my god, that was the funniest shit I've seen in a long time," he wheezed. 

"You fucking brat!" Hyunjin screeched. 

Jeongin launched himself over the back of the couch, hiding in the space between the couch and the wall. Hyunjin ended up landing on top of him and unable to get up, and so he just sat there, tickling the poor boy until Woojin and Seungmin came to help. 

Seungmin pried his boyfriend off of the maknae, laughing all the while. Even after they were a ways apart, Hyunjin was still trying to reach over to tickle Jeongin. 

Woojin pulled the still-giggling youngest from behind the couch, still laughing himself, and collapsed on the ground a couple of feet away. He took a couple of deep breaths. "I both love and hate you guys." 

This made Felix laugh harder, and he bent completely in half before falling hard on his ass and laughing so hard he was nearly unable to breathe. 

"We're such a dysfunctional family," Minho laughed. 

"Oh my god, even Changbin's laughing!" Jisung managed between breaths. 

Changbin was indeed laughing. "Oh, like that's far and few between?" he managed. 

"For the emo child? Kinda, yeah," Felix said. 

"For the last time, I'm not emo! And I'm older than you, so try again."

"Sorry, emo-hyung," Felix smiled, and he looked like such a ray of sunshine that Changbin couldn't help but smile as well, even as he opened his mouth to protest. 

"Okay, lovebirds, let's not get carried away," Chan said. 

"Lovebirds?" Felix asked, his laughter stopping abruptly. 

Changbin cleared his throat and shook his head slightly, widening his eyes meaningfully.

"Seriously? You're not--" 

"I'm gonna get you back, just you frickin wait, you little shit," Hyunjin said, Seungmin still hanging off of his shoulders to prevent him running at the youngest. 

"Hey, you can borrow some of my clothes, okay?" Seungmin giggled. 

"Not like he won't anyway," Minho said. 

"I..." Hyunjin started, looking to protest, his finger in the air. He dropped it, frowned, his brow furrowed, and side-eyed Seungmin. "I can't even try to deny it." 

"I know," Seungmin hummed. He planted a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek. "But I love it anyway." 

Hyunjin turned around to properly embrace the younger, to which Jisung gagged. "Get a room, jeez," he managed. "No PDA, please. For my personal sanity."

"Oh please, you and Minho are worse!" 

Minho choked on nothing. "Excuse me?" 

"This is like a... like a no-homo love. We're not a thing," Jisung was quick to explain. 

"Bullshit. You two are exclusive," Seungmin retorted. 

"Let's not do this right now, okay? I never got to play Overwatch," Jeongin whined. 

"Yeah, because you threw water all over me!" 

"Are we still on that?" 

"It wasn't even five minutes ago!" 

"It happened over three minutes ago, it's irrelevant now," Felix said. "I don't focus in the past, it distracts from the now."

"Well okay, I'm going to go play Overwatch." 

"I'm gonna cream you every round. Remember who your hyungs are, you little shit." 

"Okay, Hyungjinnie," Jeongin replied with a smirk. 

Hyunjin chased Jeongin back to the room with the consoles, and Seungmin followed him. "I should make sure he doesn't actually kill the kid." 

"Yep, okay," Chan said, picking up his empty bowl from the table and putting it in the sink. "Kids clean up!" 

"But daaaddddd," Jisung whined. 

"Nope! Your mother and I cooked, y'all gotta clean." 

"Dad said y'all, times must be rough." 

"Minho, I swear to god." 

"Yes dad? What do you swear?"

"Next time you call me dad, I might murder you." 

"Mom? Do you have anything to say for this?" 

"Ya ain't shit," Woojin said. "You're just like ya father!" 

"Not you, too," Chan groaned. 

Woojin hummed. "Yes, me, too." 

"Mom's quoting vines. I'm leaving. Binnie-hyung, are you coming?" Felix asked. 

"Anything to get out of here," he responded. 

Apparently, Changbin couldn't get up fast enough, because Felix walked over and pulled him up, and then led him by the hand to one of the other spare rooms, much to the delight of their friends, one of whom wolf whistled. 

"Jisung, I swear to god," Changbin muttered. 

"Spread your wings and fly, fledglings!" Jisung called in reply. 

Felix shut the door behind them with a firm snap. He then proceeded to jump on the bed and move to one side, patting the space next to him. 

Once Changbin complied, laying on his back, Felix moved so he was perpendicular to Changbin and put his head on the other's stomach. He sighed, and Changbin physically felt Felix's body relax against his. He pulled out his phone, and Changbin did the same. 

As they continued scrolling through their feeds, Changbin could see Felix's slight frown grow deeper out of the corner of his eye. He sported his own frown, no longer paying attention to his phone, only at the creases around Felix's mouth. 

Neither moved from their positions until the sun was well down beyond the horizon. The only movement that happened then was when Felix sighed and put his phone away and turned onto his side so he was curled up into Changbin. 

He looked up with his big eyes. His puffy lips stuck out a bit. "Hyung, do you think I'm attractive?" 

Changbin choked on air. "Ex-excuse me?" he spluttered. 

"Do you find me attractive?" Felix repeated. He had definitely turned a pretty shade of pink. Erm, a manly shade of pink... Fuck. 

"I, well I-I mean, I don't—" 

Felix frowned. "I'm sorry. That was really forward of me." He curled into a ball. "Good night, hyung," he murmured. 

Changbin took a deep breath, and watched Felix's head rise and fall on his stomach. "Good night, Felix." 

***

When Changbin woke up, Felix was gone. He was quite confused by that, since it was three in the morning and he hadn't felt any disturbance when Felix had clearly gotten up. Or maybe he was kidnapped...? He shook his head to clear the thought away. "Get it together, Changbin. That wouldn't happen." 

"Felix?" he whispered, sliding out of bed. There was no reply. 

Changbin walked out into the hallway, making his way to the living room. Jisung was sleeping on the couch, his hand draped over the side, directly above Minho's hand where he was laying on the ground. Each had a faint smile on his face. 

"Hypocrites," he muttered, gently smirking. But there was no sign of Felix. 

Changbin didn't want to admit it, but he was freaking out a bit. He walked into the kitchen to make a cup of hot chocolate to calm his nerves. 

And he sat by the door and waited. 

***

Felix walked into the house at five fifty three in the morning. Not that Changbin was counting, but that meant that he had been awake for two hours and forty four minutes. As soon as the door opened, and Changbin felt the waft of cold air hit his face, he was up and wrapping his arms around the younger. 

"You brat," he murmured. "You scared me so bad." 

"I—hyung! Hi?" Felix froze. "Isn't it kinda early for you to be up?" 

"I woke up at three and I haven't gone back to sleep, since I woke up to you missing. Not even just from the bed, from the whole house."

"I hadn't counted on—"

"Counted on? Counted on what? Felix, I thought you ran away! I thought you were..." The lack of sleep must have had it's effect on Changbin, because he was getting choked up. "You seemed disappointed last night." 

"Oh, hyungie," Felix sighed, "I'm fine." 

Changbin would be inclined to believe him, except for the deep bags under his eyes. "Where did you go?" 

"Just... out for a walk." 

"For more than two hours."

"...Yes?"

"Felix." 

Felix sighed. "Okay, hyung. But you... you can't tell anyone." 

"Is this something that concerns all of us?" 

"No... I don't think so." 

"What is it?" 

"I'm going to night school." 

There was a pause. "What? Why?" 

"Well, my Korean still is lacking, and sometimes I don't fully understand what you're saying, and your jokes are the best, hyungie, and I want to be able to appreciate them." 

Changbin sighed. "Felix, this is a really bad idea." 

"Hey, I'm full of them." 

"You're more full of good ideas, idiot."

Felix hummed, pulling out of the tight embrace. "I promise I won't overwork myself, hyung."

"You'd better not. Now come sleep."

"In bed? With you?" 

In response, Changbin tugged on Felix's hand. 

"Hyung, the others already think we're a... a thing." 

Changbin's heart twisted. "Felix, I know you sleep better when there's someone else in the room. We don't have to sleep in the bed together, I'll take the floor." 

"Hyungie, I can't ask you to—" 

"This is non-negotiable, Felix." 

Felix was silent, letting Changbin tug him toward the bed. "Okay," he said in a small voice. 

Changbin laid down on the bed and tugged Felix close to him, fully intent on sliding to the floor soon after. Felix's hand tightened around Changbin's, pulling him closer until he was giving Felix a hug from behind. (Changbin was only an inch shorter. Shut up.)

Changbin didn't even think about closing his eyes until he felt Felix's breath deepening and evening out. The sun was almost up over the horizon by then, making the room a little lighter. "Good night, Felix," Changbin whispered for the second time before his eyes slipped closed. 

If anyone noticed a mug half full of cold hot chocolate by the door when they woke up, nobody said anything. 

***

Changbin woke up to Felix shifting around. The sun was heading for the western horizon now. When he opened his eyes and looked at the clock, he read two, and it clearly wasn't morning. 

"Hyung," Felix whimpered, his eyes shut. "Hyungie." He manoeuvred around so he was hugging Changbin around the middle. 

"Hey," Changbin breathed, only just realising that he didn't know where his limbs ended and the younger's began. "I'm here." 

Felix kept his eyes squinted shut. "Changbin-hyunnnnng," he whined. 

"I'm right here, Felix." 

Felix squeezed his arms around Changbin, hard, and oh, that felt good, he thought, as his back popped. 

Felix was still squirming, his eyes still shut. Changbin couldn't help but comb his fingers through the blonde's hair. Felix instantly relaxed, his body going pliant. He gave a quiet puff of an exhale, and stopped fidgeting. 

A quiet knock on the door startled Changbin out of his reverie. His attention snapped to the door as it opened a crack. Woojin peeked inside, and locked eyes with Changbin, smiling. Changbin sleepily smiled back, Felix's deep inhales lulling him back to the blissful dreamless sleep he had been in. The last thing he recalled before waking up again was the door quietly shutting. 

***

Changbin and Felix woke up at the same time, three hours later. It only happened because the door was opened and Seungmin came charging in, launching himself on top of Felix. Of course, with how Felix and Changbin were still tangled, Changbin was collateral damage. 

"Woojinnie says if you don't wake up now he's not gonna make enough for you to eat your breakfast." He rolled his eyes. "It's actually five in the evening, so. Take that with a grain of salt."

"Get off, you overgrown child," Changbin muttered, snuggling his nose back into Felix's hair. 

Felix shoved Seungmin off of the bed, and pulled Changbin impossibly closer, his eyes fluttering shut again. 

"Also, Minho says that you're gonna be late to dance." 

Felix's eyes shot open this time, and he extricated himself from Changbin's hold. "Shit, is it seven already?!" 

Changbin grumbled. "No, 's only five. He jus' wanted a way to get you outta bed," he slurred, blinking the sleep from his eyes. 

"Chan says that if you don't wake up you won't be able to fall asleep again for a long time."

"If I want to sleep for twenty hours straight, I will, dammit," he muttered, finally sitting up. 

"Except we all know you made hot chocolate at three in the morning." 

Changbin blinked, not wanting to expose Felix if he didn't want him to. "So?"

"So it wasn't twenty hours straight." 

"Oh, yeah, I guess not." 

Felix groaned and laid back down, mushing his head into the pillow. 

"Nope, get up," Chan said from down the hall, walking in to get his little brother up. "You've slept for too long. You need your limbs to be functional for dance, Felix." 

"My limbs work fine."

"You're gonna be lethargic."

"'S fine. I'll manage."

"Changbin, scooch back. I'm tickling."

Felix sat straight up, his bed head a mess, lines on his face, his normally puffy lips now pouting out even further. "You wouldn't dare," he said, narrowing his eyes, the bags underneath becoming even more prominent. 

"And he's up. Come on, Lix. Let's go eat." 

Felix sighed. "Well, I guess I'm up."

"And you have dance in a couple hours," Changbin said, running his hand down Felix's back, almost missing the way Felix shuddered, before pulling himself up. 

Felix groaned and put his head in his hands. "Okay. Let's go." 

***

Minho looked down at the bowl, wondering if he should voice his concerns about Felix to Woojin before the others came in the kitchen. He decided that the benefits had the potential to outweigh the costs, and threw all caution to the wind. 

"Hyung, I--"

"Watch what you're doing, don't burn the noodles," came a voice. Seungmin walked in the kitchen and stole a piece of crab out of the pot that Woojin was stirring. "'S good, hyungie." 

"I can't burn the noodles. They're in a pan full of broth, you idiot."

Seungmin gasped, bringing a hand in front of his mouth. "Hyung, protect my honour!" He nudged Woojin toward Minho. 

Woojin nudged him back. "Protect your own honour, you dramatic shit." 

Seungmin gasped again, his other hand coming up to his stomach like a girl swooning in an old western film. "Hyung!" 

Woojin turned to Minho. "You were saying something?" 

Seungmin put his chin on Woojin's shoulder. "Ooh, were you gonna be intelligent?"

"Ya know what, never mind."

"No, no, come on hyungie, don't be embarrassed to be smart around me." 

"I don't know why I bother." 

Woojin pushed his brother's head off of his shoulder. "Your chin is really fucking pointy."

"But my left cheek is fucking adorable," Seungmin replied, a little smirk on his face. 

"Go hang out with Hyunjin or something."

"Ooh, that's actually not a bad idea. Later, bitches." 

The older two watched Seungmin practically prance out of the kitchen. 

Without turning to look at Woojin, Minho returned to what he was going to say. "Hyung, I'm concerned about Felix."

This attracted Woojin's attention. His eyes shifted over to where Minho was standing. "In all honesty, I am too. I don't think he's getting enough sleep."

"And he's overworking himself," Minho added, now turning to face his hyung. "He works himself to the bone in dance, and then he stays late and works through what he thinks he's messing up, even though I can attest to the inaccuracy of that statement. He's really good at dance, he doesn't hardly mess anything up. But that's because when he gets home, he practices for hours on end. After getting home from class. And when he's satisfied enough for the day, that's when he starts his homework. He often doesn't go to bed until three thirty or four, and then gets up at six to do the whole thing over again. It's a mess. I don't know how he's still alive." 

Woojin sighed. "I'll talk to Chan," he mused, running a hand through his hair. 

"Thank you, hyung."

"Talk to me about what?" Chan said, pulling a piece of crab from the pot. "'S good, Woojin-ah," he said, licking his lips. He placed a kiss to Woojin's temple, and leaned into his boyfriend's shoulder. 

Woojin leaned back into him, balancing out their weight. "Later."

"'Mkay," Chan replied, delivering another kiss, this time to Woojin's cheek. Woojin turned to return the kiss, then tucking his face into Chan's neck. Chan ran his hands up and down his back, holding him close as he began to hum a song and sway. 

Woojin began to laugh, and Minho began to melt. He felt like he was missing out on something, not having a girlfriend. Woojin and Chan were almost disgustingly domestic, and Seungmin and Hyunjin were so cute, and despite how much they denied it, Felix and Changbin looked so happy together. He turned back to the udon, his heart aching. He took a deep breath. He was acting childish. 

Jisung danced into the kitchen next. He had his earbuds in, and was obviously listening to some, to quote Changbin yesterday, harder bops. He grabbed his phone and pretended like he was screaming into it, halting his dancing so he could hold the sustained note, his stance wide, his fist clenched and tendons pushed out like he wanted to punch someone.

Minho cocked an eyebrow. "The fuck are you doing?" 

"I can't hear you," Jisung mouthed, still head banging. Minho rolled his eyes and smirked at his best friend. 

Seungmin came back into the kitchen, followed closely by Felix. Minho caught Seungmin's eye, trying to ask a silent question if Felix was alright. Apparently Seungmin got the wrong idea, though, because he came up behind Jisung and shoved him, hard. 

Jisung's eyes grew wide before he slammed into Minho, who ended up tripping over his feet and running into the counter and hitting his head on the sink. They both fell to the floor, groaning. Minho furrowed his brow in pain and held his head, and Jisung did nothing to try to move off of Minho, snaking his arms around his human shield. 

Seungmin fell to the ground laughing, while Felix went over to pull the two off of the ground. "Seungmin, you asshole," he laughed as he tried and failed to tug Jisung off of Minho. 

Seungmin could only cackle in return, and Minho glared at him. 

"You're next, Seungshit." Minho rubbed the back of his head, trying to dull the pain. 

Woojin tucked his face further into Chan's neck, who in turn gently rested his head on Woojin's. "Language," he murmured. 

Jeongin skidded into the room. “Hyung? Hyung are you okay? I heard a thump in the spare room and I figured I should make sure nobody was seriously injured.” 

Minho growled and kept rubbing his head. 

“Can I look at that for you, hyung?” Jeongin asked, coming closer to kneel next to him. “I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”

“Wow, someone that cares about my well-being, amazing,” Minho said. He let Jeongin look at the point of impact, and then let him prod around. He even let him check for a concussion, closing his eyes and letting Jeongin force them open. 

“It looks like you’ll be fine, hyungie,” Jeongin said. 

“How did you know how to do all of that, Jeonginnie?” Chan inquired.

“I had to take a first aid class when I signed up for lifeguarding. It never came in handy for the kids, but it has around you guys.”

“Yah,” Changbin said, coming into the kitchen at last. “Choose your next words very carefully.”

Jeongin seemed to consider for a moment, then smirked for a millisecond before putting on a serious face. His eyes grew wide as he feigned innocence. “Y’all hyungs are some of the clumsiest motherfuckers I have ever had the misfortune to meet.”

There was a moment of silence before it erupted into noise. 

“Why, you little--”

“Jeongin! How could you?”

“I thought we raised you better than this!”

Felix’s laughter rang the loudest. He fell on his ass, again, and laughed until he was wheezing. “Oh my god,” he coughed. “I’m gonna have abs!”

This made everyone burst into laughter all over again, until they were all sitting on the floor in the kitchen. Seungmin sprawled himself out over the expanse of tile, to which Hyunjin responded by laying his head on his boyfriend’s stomach. 

Minho's heart squeezed again. 

Jisung wiggled around from where he was still laying on Minho, and still giggling. He was facing away from Minho, and moving incessantly. Minho affectionately ran a hand through the younger's hair, being careful not to yank on any knots. 

Jisung stopped fidgeting, and the smile was chased from his face by a look of shock. The tips of his ears began to turn a light shade of red, closely followed by the back of his neck. 

The others were arguing over a snickering Jeongin. Chan and Woojin were aggressively pointing at Changbin and Felix, bright smiles on their faces. 

At one point, Jisung caught the maknae's eye, who's smile grew bigger yet as he looked at the situation that Jisung was in. He even went so far as to snicker as his face turned slowly redder. 

Minho moved his hand down Jisung's back and pressed down, beginning to massage. His first motion pressed directly into a knot, meaning Jisung had no control over the little whine that came out of his mouth. 

Minho had clearly heard, though he was mildly concerned he had imagined it. His hand paused, still making contact with Jisung but not massaging. Had he heard that correctly? He pushed down again but didn't hear anything. He figured he had imagined it, and therefore continued massaging. 

Jeongin's face lit up when Minho shifted Jisung onto the floor and straddled him, pushing down onto his back. The youngest got a clear look at Jisung's face, and could tell the moment he had resigned himself to the situation. 

Minho could also feel when Jisung's muscles relaxed under his touch. He worked his way across the younger's back, kneading out the plentiful knots. 

The second whine Jisung let out was the limit for him. He slid out from under his hyung, murmuring an apology. 

"Don't be sorry, Sungie. How'd you get so many knots?"

"Backpack," Jisung muttered. 

"Hm?"

Jisung cleared his throat. "From carrying my backpack." 

Minho nodded. "Glad the year's over." 

Jisung hummed in agreement. 

"You're gonna be a senior this year." 

"Yeah."

Minho chuckled. "Have fun." 

"Thanks," Jisung muttered, his face still red. 

"Food's done," Woojin announced. 

"Thanks for cooking, mom," Jeongin said, a smirk gracing his lips. 

"I hope there was a comma in there," Chan said in reply, tugging Jeongin up from the floor. 

Hyunjin bent down to pick Seungmin up, and Felix helped Changbin up. Minho shrugged and extended his hand to Jisung. 

Jisung blushed further but took his hand, pulling himself off of the floor. 

Minho cursed the little tap dance his heart was doing at the cute noises Jisung made. He sighed. It was okay if he thought Jisung was cute, he was younger than Minho. It didn’t have to be taken in a gay sort of way. Because he wasn’t gay. 

Chan snaked his arms around Woojin. “Thanks for cooking, babe.” 

Woojin smiled at him. “I hope there was a comma in there,” he replied, cocking an eyebrow and kissing Chan on the cheek. 

Chan sighed. “Two days less than a year and you still make me blush like a schoolgirl.” 

Woojin laughed at that. “I mean….”

“Is he really wrong?” Felix asked, propping his elbow up on his older brother’s shoulder. 

“Yah, you brat,” Chan smiled. He pulled Felix into a headlock and ruffled his hair. “You’ll know what I mean someday.” 

If Minho looked very closely, he could see a faint pink begin to bloom on the apple of Changbin’s cheeks. Not that he was looking closely. 

He just hoped Felix would reciprocate those feelings. 

***

Dinner was an occasion to behold. Of course, the nine of them were incapable of going anywhere without making a mess, so they were still attempting to clean the broth of the udon out of the floorboards by the time it was time for the dancers to leave. 

Changbin pulled Felix aside to talk to him, and Seungmin planted a chaste kiss on Hyunjin’s lips, which clearly had developed into something more by the time Felix tugged on Hyunjin’s arm. 

“Hyunjin-hyung...” Felix tried to start. Seungmin’s lips chased Hyunjin’s until they were a solid five feet apart, Felix almost dragging Hyunjin out of the house by the back of his shirt. 

"Hey, Minho. Hyungie. We should all go to dance." 

Minho looked behind him, at whoever was talking. It was Jisung, who was inspecting his nails. 

Minho's eyebrows went up a bit in surprise. 

Jisung looked up and smiled at Minho, cocking an eyebrow. 

On the other side of the room, Jeongin smiled coyly at Jisung, waiting for him to catch his eye. 

"I mean, I don't see any issues with it," Minho shrugged. "I'll just ask the others." 

Jisung beamed. "Thanks, hyungie!" 

Minho smiled in return. "No problem," he replied. His heart squeezed. Why?!

Jeongin pulled Jisung aside as soon as he could to whisper violently in his ear. 

Jisung was usually loud, assertive, full of himself, propping himself up on his ego, and yet.... And yet. There was something so attractive about the boy. 

Minho began to wonder if he really was straight. 

Seeing Jisung smile was like watching the sun come out from behind the clouds. It was astonishing, breath taking, heart-warming. It was beautiful. 

And now, watching one of those smiles adorn his lips? 

Minho couldn't be straight. 

Minho was really fucking gay. 

And he was scared. 

But the best way to conquer fear is head-on. 

So Minho strode over to where Jisung was standing with Jeongin. "Will you excuse us, please? Just for a minute." 

Jeongin smirked and nodded. "Take as long as you need, hyungie."

Minho wasn't sure which one he was talking to, but he took Jisung's hand and led him down a hall and into the nearest room, which happened to be the bathroom. 

"Hyung?" Jisung whispered. 

"Just... Just let me know I'm not reading this wrong," Minho breathed in reply. He brought his hand up to the younger's face, caressing the skin under his eye with his thumb. He bent closer, and Jisung honest to god whined, closing his eyes and leaning forward ever so slightly, giving permission. 

Every man has a breaking point. 

That was Minho's. 

He surged forward and caught Jisung's lips with his own. He pushed Jisung up against the closed door, letting Jisung lead the kiss, before pulling back. He peppered the younger's face with sloppy kisses until Jisung switched their positions. 

The next thing Minho knew, he was pushed against the door, a hand up his shirt and fingers raking across his abs, and a tongue licking at the seam of his lips. He quickly parted them, allowing Jisung access to his mouth, who licked across Minho's teeth as he let out a little moan. 

"It only took you this long," Jisung murmured before practically attacking Minho's mouth with his own again. 

"Yah! We have to leave!" Chan called through the door. 

Minho whined but pulled away, watching as Jisung slowly opened his eyes, revealing wide-blown pupils and a somewhat satisfied gaze. He smirked, and received a full smile in return. 

"So I'm not straight, I guess?" Minho laughed. 

Jisung giggled in return. "I guess not." 

"I have no idea what I'm doing, just so you know," Minho said, biting his bottom lip. 

Jisung crinkled his nose before surging forward and catching Minho's lip in his own teeth. "None of that," he murmured. 

Minho smiled and pressed a quick kiss to the tip of Jisung's nose. "We should head to dance." 

Jisung grabbed his hand and laughed. "Lead the way." 

Jeongin's face lit up when he saw the two of them, and he went up to throw his arms around Jisung. 

Jisung laughed and returned the hug as Minho smiled at him and went to talk to Woojin. 

"You need to be going," Woojin said to Hyunjin, who was still latched onto Seungmin. 

"Hyung," Minho called. 

"Yes?" Woojin said, turning around to face him. 

"What if we all went together?" 

"To dance?" He shrugged. "I don't see an issue with that." 

"Alright, guys, get in a car!" 

Minho smiled and grabbed his keys. "Jisung gets shotgun, anyone else is welcome to join."

Jisung gave a little fist pump, and then planted a little kiss on Minho's cheek, smiling widely. 

Seungmin pried himself out of Hyunjin's arms, latching himself onto his boyfriend's hand instead. "Let's go." 

"Jeongin, you can ride with the rest of us," Chan called. 

"'Mkay, let's go!" 

They closed the door on an empty house. 

***

The nine of them went to practice together. 

The teacher, Mr. Kang, was mildly intrigued, but didn't see any issues with them staying to watch. 

"Alright, guys, if you non-dancers want to take a seat in the back, we'll wait for everyone else to show up," Mr. Kang said. 

Six of them went to sit down, leaving the three dancers in the front. Woojin sat on the ground in front of Chan's chair, who immediately took the opportunity to massage his boyfriend's back. 

Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix started stretching and warming up. Changbin tried to keep his eyes anywhere but Felix's muscles, which basically meant looking anywhere but at him. Jisung didn't seem to be having the same issue, his eyes roving over Minho's body. Changbin low key envied him. 

The other dancers slowly trickled in as the clock neared seven. They gave the usual weird looks to the group in the back before warming up. 

Mr. Kang clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "We're going to do a fun warmup today, so everyone get in position." 

There were a bunch of murmurs and cocked eyebrows as he hooked his phone up to the speaker system. "We're gonna do a random dance play!" 

There were some groans, but most of the students laughed and cheered. 

"This is a compilation of the choruses of songs that I chose myself, so it's good," the instructor smiled. 

"Is it all Twice, then, seongsaeng-nim?" one of the students asked. 

"Pfft. You wish." 

The playlist started, and sure enough, it was Twice's Signal. They all got into position and started the dance. 

Four of the six in the back began dancing as well, to themselves. Jeongin even got up to fully dance. 

Before the next song started, the instructor paused the music. "If you guys want, you can come and dance as well. I'm sure you know all of these dances," he said to the six in the back. 

Jisung smirked and was the first to stand up, closely followed by Seungmin. Jeongin grabbed Changbin by the arm and tugged him onto the floor as well. Changbin looked back with a panicked gaze at Woojin and Chan, who laughed and refused to join. "That's not a question I need answered," Woojin said, leaning back on Chan's knee. 

Mr. Kang nodded at the four new dancers. "Ready?" 

Jeongin and Jisung nodded. "Let's do it!" Jeongin called. 

The next song was Got7's Hard Carry. All of the students and the four additions got ready for the prechorus, and then, perfectly in sync, went through the chorus. 

The next song was Boombayah, followed by a song called District 9, followed by 4minute's CRAZY. The list continued for a solid half hour, including but not limited to Weki Meki's I Don't Like Your Girlfriend, SF9's Easy Love, EXO's The Eve, back to Twice with Like OOH AHH, Gugudan's The Boots, and Seventeen's Adore U. The dancers were breathing hard by the time the instructor called "Last song!" 

The first beat of the song dropped, and the instructor barely had time to explain that this was his favourite song on the playlist, so he added the whole thing before Minho yelled "MOVE, BITCHES" and got into position. The other students groaned and got off of the floor, refusing to dance after the instructor declared it optional, while Felix, Hyunjin, Jisung, Seungmin, Changbin, and Jeongin surrounded Minho. Jisung stepped up and muttered "bultaoleunae", and the song started. 

By the time the song was finished, the instructor was clapping, Woojin and Chan were laughing, the other students were groaning, and the seven in the middle were dying. 

"God, I'm sweaty," Felix slurred. 

"I'm crying," Chan said. "That was hilarious and impressive at the same time." 

There had been a point where Seungmin had tripped over Hyunjin's heel and the pair had ended up lying on top each other, limbs tangled, in the middle of the dance. Seungmin was extremely upset, and Hyunjin was dying of laughter at his boyfriend's cute expression when he was mad. 

"Nae pi ttam nunmul," Jeongin whisper-sang. 

"Stop," Changbin grunted. "We're done with the BTS for now. And for a long time after. Please and thanks." 

Felix stumbled over to where Changbin was laying on the ground. He lay down next to him, panting, and muttered "I think we're warm now." 

Mr. Kang laughed. "Are you ready for class now?" 

Felix got back up, wiping the sweat from his face. "Yes, seongsaeng-nim. Let's just get these imbeciles off of the floor." 

"Yah," Minho warned. 

"Sorry, sorry, imbecile-hyungs." 

Changbin laughed and got up, this time dragging Jeongin with him. Felix smiled at them as he wiped sweat from his cheek. 

As soon as Jisung and Seungmin stumbled off of the floor, the students came back on. They worked through a routine movement by movement, and started putting it together. Changbin had to admit, it was really impressive. They moved smoothly and harsh at the same time, asserting themselves on the floor in their own way. He tried to focus on all of the dancers, but his attention was still held most of the time by the way Felix moved. Felix liked to over exaggerate the moves, which led to him being the most assertive on the floor. The other dancers made sure not to get in his way, and Changbin sort of suspected it was because of the look on his face and how he was constantly moving. He was even sometimes almost snarling, which fit in with the words to the song, about being lost in life and wandering, primarily about total madness and frustration. 

The song came to a close and the dancers all stopped with their arms crossed in front of them, giving the mirror a death glare. 

Mr. Kang nodded, and the six in the back clapped. "Pretty good," he mused. He furrowed his brow and went through some of the moves on his own. "Yeah. Wow. Great job, guys! I think you've earned a break!" 

The students cheered half-heartedly, still breathing hard. Changbin was still watching only Felix, who had sweat practically dripping off of his shirt. Felix collapsed onto the floor, breathing hard, even though the dance had been done for a while. 

"You alright, Felix?" the teacher asked. 

Felix was unable to respond, but nodded. "Yes," he breathed on an exhale. 

Changbin frowned. Felix was normally so energetic. Something was exceptionally wrong. 

The teacher frowned, too. "Can I get one of you to take him outside for a minute and give him some water? I think he might need fresh air. It doesn't help that he's overworking himself either."

Changbin stood up, grabbing Felix's water bottle. "Yeah, I got it. And yeah, he has been pushing himself too hard lately." He went to stand next to Felix and pull him up. 

The teacher's brow furrowed further. "Felix, you should take the rest of rehearsal off. You can stay and watch if you want, but you shouldn't dance."

"Really, I'm fine, seongsaeng-nim," Felix said quietly. 

"Hm, and you'll be even better when you're not dancing. Go get some water, Felix." 

Felix sighed but nodded, leaning on Changbin's shoulder. They exited the building and sat on the stairs, where Changbin handed Felix his water bottle. 

"I'm fine, I don't know what seongsaeng-nim is talking about," he muttered. He drank some water, and Changbin put a hand on the back of his neck, squeezing slightly and massaging the tense muscles there. He noticed Felix was still breathing hard. 

"Are you sure you're alright, Felix-ah? You seem more tired than usual." 

"Oh my god, Changbin-hyung," was all he caught before Felix went on a rant in English. 

Changbin tried to follow, he really did, but he was speaking too fast and his accent made it even worse to try to. 

"Felix," another voice said. "You're speaking in English." 

Chan came and sat next to Felix to let him finish his rant. Then he wrapped an arm around his brother and calmed him down in English. 

One word caught Changbin's attention, "Binnie". His stomach suddenly dropped to his feet, but he cocked his head ever so slightly to the side and waited until they were done. 

With the way Felix was acting, Changbin could guess what he had been ranting about. "It's okay," he said. "You're okay. Nobody's expecting you to be perfect, Lix."

"But I'm even still struggling with Korean, and I've been here for five months," Felix managed, still out of breath. 

"You've been here for five months. I don't see an issue with your Korean for having been here for five months." 

"But Chris is already so much better at it than I am."

"I was here for a year of high school, Lixie. You've done so much better in these past five months than I did in the whole year I was here."

Felix sniffed, and Changbin wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Chan smiled and moved away slightly, standing up. "I'm gonna head back inside before Woojin-ah starts to worry." 

Felix nodded, looking at the ground. Changbin squeezed his shoulders. 

Once Chan was gone, Felix's shoulders shook. 

"Hey, hey, none of that, Felix. You're perfect in your own way."

"I just want to be... to be like everyone else. I still have trouble understanding what the teachers say sometimes."

"Well, good news, school's done for the summer." 

There was a pause, and a sniff. "Hey," Changbin said gently, taking Felix's face in his other hand and wiping a stray tear from his cheek. 

Felix sniffed again. "Hyung, I...." Another sniff. "I really...." He paused again. "I can't do this." 

"Hey, it's okay. We can just sit here. There's nothing wrong with that." 

"You're sure?" 

"Will you let me ask one question?"

"Uh, sure?" 

"Why did you say my name when you were talking with Chan-hyung?" 

Felix stopped in the middle of a sniff. He cleared his throat. "You... you heard that?" 

Changbin nodded, and Felix sighed. "Hyung... I really like you."

Changbin blinked a couple of times, the statement catching him off guard. "...Like—"

"Like, really like you." 

There was silence. 

"Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mess everything up, I'm just..." Felix put his head in his hands. "I'm such a fuck-up." 

Changbin pulled Felix closer to him. "Actually, Felix," he said, relishing the way the younger's name rolled off of his tongue, "this is perfect. Because I think I really like you too." 

Felix looked up. "You what?"

Changbin snorted. "Have I not been obvious? I thought I was being obvious."

"Why didn't you say anything?" 

"I didn't want to push you. I wanted you to come to me so I didn't make you uncomfortable." 

"Hyungie—"

"Nope, I've waited too long. Come here." He pulled Felix to his chest, pulling him partially onto his lap. He tucked his nose into the crook of Felix's neck, closing his eyes and inhaling. The scent was so undeniably him, underneath the sweat of dancing and the stress of the day. 

"Hyung, you've waited less than a month. Also, I stink, so you probably shouldn't do that."

Changbin hummed, making Felix squirm. "It's been a month that lasted ten goddamn years. And I honestly couldn't care less." 

Felix laughed, the sound reverberating through him. "You sap." 

Changbin noticed Felix's chest was still rising and falling at an unusual rate. "Hey, Lixie, are you alright?" 

"Hm?" Felix had closed his eyes, and was resting his chin on Changbin's shoulder. 

"You're still breathing hard."

"Yeah, I'm fine, hyungie." 

"Mmkay," Changbin murmured, and squeezed Felix once more before gently shoving him off of his lap and pulling them both up. "Come on, you."

Felix laughed and followed him toward the entrance of the studio. Just outside the door, he tugged on Changbin's hand, pulling him to a stop. "Wait, hyung. What does this make us?"

Changbin turned to face the younger. "Well, I was kinda hoping you would be okay with being my—"

"Yes, hyung. I'm more than okay with it."

"Lixie, don't jump into agreements without hearing all of it!" Changbin managed through laughter. "What if I had said sugar baby?" 

"I mean... I wouldn't... complain...?"

"Oh my god, Felix, no!" Changbin laughed harder. 

Felix laughed and fell into Changbin's arms. "Oh my god, you being my sugar daddy is too much. Let's never revisit this topic."

"Agreed," Changbin muttered, physically cringing at the word. 

Felix only giggled harder. "Okay, let's go inside, Binnie, it's too fucking hot out here." 

Changbin's back stiffened at the usage of the pet name. A smile grew over his face. "Okay, Lixie." 

Felix smiled and took his hand, practically dragging him inside. 

"Felix! How're you feeling?" the instructor called. 

"Much better, seongsaeng-nim!" Felix bent in a little bow, a smile still plastered on his face as he held onto Changbin's hand. 

"Oh good," Jeongin smiled, staring at their joined hands. 

"Did you get your shit figured out, Lix?" Chan asked, a smile on his face as well. 

"Yeah," Felix giggled, his deep voice negating the cute effect. "The answer was right in front of me."

Jisung cheered. "Finally!" 

Minho snorted. "Yeah, really." 

Jisung shoved him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "And who, exactly, are you to talk? Jeez." 

Jeongin cheered. "What a happy ending!" 

"What are you so happy about, Jeonginnie?" Hyunjin asked. 

Seungmin put his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Isn't it a happy ending though? We all have someone to depend on and each other to deal with." 

"Jeongin doesn't."

"Excuse you? He has his loving parents!" Woojin said, offended. 

"But he doesn't have a..." 

"I'm married to school, at the moment," Jeongin shrugged. 

"School's out." 

Felix laughed. "Wow guys." 

"Hey, just because you got your happy ending doesn't mean—"

"Okay but I'm happy so leave it alone?" Jeongin snorted. "Please and thanks."

Hyunjin smiled. "Truly the most savage of us all. I've trained him well."

"Oh my god," Felix laughed again. 

"Wait, have you two kissed yet?" Jisung asked. 

"Uh, we literally decided to become a thing like five minutes ago? So, uh, no." 

Woojin snorted. "That doesn't mean you don't want to, Binnie." 

Changbin laughed nervously. "I don't..."

Felix looked over at Changbin. "I mean..."

"Alright, guys! Time to get back together, we have a lot to go through still tonight!" 

Felix grinned and wiped sweat from his brow. "Seongsaeng-nim, do I get to?"

Mr. Kim smiled. "No, Felix, take it easy. You can still watch, since your friends are still here." 

"Sounds good," Felix said, and promptly sat next to Changbin, putting his head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for the rest of the night, Felix playing with Changbin's hand as he watched the dancers, and Changbin's heart melting at the sight of his now boyfriend. 

***

"I'm bored," Jeongin said, clearly with an ulterior motive in mind. They had returned to Woojin's house, crowding onto the floor in the living room. 

"Hm?" Woojin looked up from his book. 

"I'm bored. We should play a game."

"Jeonginnie, we're not playing "I am ground" again. I'm blatantly refusing it." 

"You're boring, hyung."

"Hm."

There was a pause when they sat in silence. It was quickly broken. "What about truth or dare?"

Chan sighed. "You're not gonna give this up, are you?" 

"Probably not."

"Great. Let's play."

"I'll go first, since I suggested it."

"How about no?"

"I'm also the youngest, so, are you really gonna deny me my rights as maknae? I didn't think so. Okay, Changbinnie-hyung, truth or dare?"

"Shit, uh, okay? Uhh, dare, I guess." 

Jeongin smirked. "I dare you to kiss Felix-hyungie for three seconds." 

Both Felix and Changbin went still. 

"Jeonginnie, I don't think we're—"

"Do it."

There was silence between the nine. Felix looked at Changbin, a sort of fire in his eyes. "Do it," he repeated. 

Chan had a sort of incredulous smile on his face. "Changbinnie, don't do it if you don't want to. This isn't extreme truth or—"

Changbin leaned over and kissed Felix on the cheek. 

After three seconds, Felix moved his head and caught Changbin's lips with his own. Changbin sighed a little bit and shifted his hands into Felix's hair, pulling him closer. 

Felix whined a little and pressed further, snaking his arms around Changbin's neck. 

The other seven cheered, making Changbin flush red with embarrassment. He pulled away, gasping for air, and looked at Felix. His lips were bright red and spit shined, and his hair was tousled, and his eyes were alight with that same fire. Changbin had never seen a more beautiful sight. 

"Wow, we were just witness to a first kiss of what is likely to be many of two young lovers," Chan said, throwing as much Aussie into the Korean as he could. 

The others laughed even as Felix blushed and turned to throw a pencil at his brother. "No," he whined, smiling through his embarrassment. 

Changbin laid his head down on Felix's shoulder, also laughing. 

Eventually, Felix also started laughing, so much that he began to cough. Once he began to cough, he didn't stop until he was wheezing. 

"Lixie? You alright?" 

"'M fine, just gotta use the bathroom," he coughed, the smile still on his face. 

As he was walking away, Changbin saw Felix wipe at his mouth with his sleeve. It came away bloody. 

***

Jisung smiled at Felix once he was back in the room. "Hey, you wanna join in cards? We need a couple more people, and if you join, Changbin will too."

Felix smiled and shook his head. "Actually, I'm not feeling too hot. I'm gonna go to bed." 

"Aww," Jeongin whined. 

"It's your bedtime too, Jeongin," Woojin said. 

"What?!"

"It's two thirty!"

"Listen to your mother," Chan smiled. 

Jeongin humphed and turned the other way. "I don't want to."

"Are you twelve?" 

"Yes."

"I'm gonna turn in too, actually." 

"Well of course YOU would, your boyfriend is going to bed now." 

"Hyunjin, you have NO room to talk with Seungmin lying on your lap like that." 

"'M sleepy. Don't judge." 

"None here. I just want to go to bed with my boyfriend."

"Whoa, whoa, shouldn't you ask a guardian first?" 

"Oh my—" Changbin face palmed. "That's not what I meant. You asshole, Chan." 

"I'm just saying, if my brother's gonna be doing that before me, we should probably consult—"

"Just stop. Please. Thanks." Changbin took Felix's hand and led them to where the rooms were. 

"At least use—"

"STOP!" 

Felix cough-laughed again. "I'm sorry about my brother. Chris is... really something." 

Changbin hummed, taking Felix's hand and pulling him closer. "Well. I guess I could learn to deal with him."

Felix giggled and twined his arms around Changbin's waist. "Changbinnie?" 

"Hm?"

"I really, really, really like you. I'm glad you're my boyfriend." 

Changbin huffed a laugh. "Well, I'm glad you're mine. It turns out the world is better when you have someone by your side." 

Felix smiled against Changbin's shoulder and pressed his face down. "I'm taller than you," he mused. 

"Shut up."

"It still works."

"Damn right." Changbin carded his fingers through the younger's hair, being careful of knots. 

Felix sighed against his neck, his breath leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"We should probably go to sleep."

"Yeah."

Changbin laid down and held up an arm for Felix to slide under. Once situated, he pulled Felix close into a back hug until they were both asleep. 

***

Changbin woke up in the middle of the night to heavy breathing. He instantly became alert, pulling his arms off of Felix. "Lixie? Can you hear me?"

Felix nodded, but his eyes were wide with fear and he was breathing much too fast for everything to be okay. 

"Felix, can you breathe?" 

Felix shook his head, his eyes only growing in terror. 

"Help! Someone, help!" Changbin called, turning Felix so he was on his back, and propping him up against pillows. "Felix, try to take some deep breaths for me, okay?" 

Jeongin was the first to skid into the room. "Hyung? What's—oh, god." 

Chan came next, closely followed by Woojin. "Lix? You alright?" 

Jeongin got on the bed next to Changbin. "Right, so someone needs to call 119. And Changbin, we need to get him onto the floor so we can start compressions if we need to." 

Woojin ran down the hall, phone in hand, as Chan raced forward to help gently set Felix onto the floor. There was blood draining from the side of his mouth, and his body was convulsing. 

"He's breathing, so we can't do anything yet," Jeongin muttered. 

 

Changbin had never felt so helpless in his entire life. 

 

Woojin came running back into the room. "I've called the paramedics, they should be here shortly," he said frantically. 

"Felix? Felix, stay with me, bud," Chan said, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. 

Felix's eyes bugged, and the next inhale didn't come. 

"He's stopped breathing. Hyunjin, in the second drawer down next to my bed, there's a weird lookin' plastic thing with a seal and a valve. Could you please grab that? Seungmin, wait by the door for EMS. And hurry."

Hyunjin quickly returned with the seal. 

"Okay. Move, please," Jeongin said, situating himself at Felix's head. He situated the seal over his mouth and breathed. "Two, three, four, five," he muttered before breathing into Felix's mouth again. "Two, three, four, five." 

Breath. 

"Two. Three. Four. Five." 

Breath. 

"Two. Three. Four. Five." 

Breath. 

That one still went in, but with that, Felix's eyes fluttered shut. 

"I have to reassess." 

Ten seconds passed. 

"He—" Jeongin choked out. "He doesn't have a pulse. I'm beginning CPR. The time is four thirty three." 

One.  
Two.  
Three.  
Four.  
Five.  
Six.  
Seven.  
Eight.  
Nine.  
Ten.  
Eleven.  
Twelve.  
Thirteen.  
Fourteen.  
Fifteen.  
Sixteen.  
Seventeen.  
Eighteen.  
Nineteen.  
Twenty.  
Twenty one.  
Twenty two.  
Twenty three.  
Twenty four.  
Twenty five.  
Twenty six.  
Twenty seven.  
Twenty eight.  
Twenty nine.  
Thirty. 

Breath. 

Breath. 

One.  
Two.  
Three.  
Four.  
Five.  
Six.  
Seven.  
Eight.  
Nine.  
Ten.  
Eleven.  
Twelve.  
Thirteen.  
Fourteen.  
Fifteen.  
Sixteen.  
Seventeen.  
Eighteen.  
Nineteen.  
Twenty.  
Twenty one.  
Twenty two.  
Twenty three.  
Twenty four.  
Twenty five.  
Twenty six.  
Twenty seven.  
Twenty eight.  
Twenty nine.  
Thirty. 

Breath. 

Breath. 

One.  
Two.  
Three.  
Four.  
Five.  
Six.  
Seven.  
Eight.  
Nine.  
Ten.  
Eleven.  
Twelve.  
Thirteen.  
Fourteen.  
Fifteen.  
Sixteen.  
Seventeen.  
Eighteen.  
Nineteen.  
Twenty.  
Twenty one.  
Twenty two.  
Twenty three.  
Twenty four.  
Twenty five.  
Twenty six.  
Twenty seven.  
Twenty eight.  
Twenty nine.  
Thirty. 

Breath. 

Breath. 

"The time is four thirty five, two minutes have passed, I'm reassessing." 

Ten more seconds. 

"Still no pulse," Jeongin almost whispered. He seemed tired, but his voice never wavered. 

Changbin whimpered at how pale Felix was. All of the blood had drained from his face, revealing every single one of his freckles. 

Jeongin moved to Felix's side again, moving his lifeless arm out of his way. 

Felix began to vomit, and Jeongin moved him so he was on his side, away from the seal, and waited until he was done. 

There was a knock on the door, and two paramedics rushed in. 

"Name, Lee Felix. When we found him, he was having difficulty breathing. Not long after, he stopped breathing altogether. At four thirty three, I reassessed and didn't feel a pulse, so I began compressions. At four thirty five, I reassessed, and was about to begin compressions again, but he vomited. The time is four thirty six, when I passed care to the paramedics," Jeongin said to one of the paramedics while helping quickly strap Felix onto the gurney. The paramedic nodded, thanked him, and ran out the door with Felix in tow, the other one prepping an AED as they ran. 

Jeongin promptly sat down, hard, controlling his breathing. 

Jisung came next to him. "Hey," he murmured gently, pulling the younger's head into his shoulder. "You did so well." 

If anyone saw a tear slip down Jeongin's face, nobody commented on it. 

Woojin nodded, picking a shell-shocked Chan up from the ground and pulling him out the door. "Jeongin and Changbin, I'm driving to the hospital. Hurry up." 

Minho nodded. "I'll be right behind you." 

The eight of them hurried out the door. 

***

Woojin drove carefully and recklessly at the same time. He kept one hand on Chan's thigh, grounding him. Changbin held an arm around a crying Jeongin, tears silently streaming down his own face. 

"Almost there, baby, hold on," Woojin murmured. The good thing about it being four in the morning was that the roads were relatively empty, and they didn't have any difficulty following the ambulance. 

They pulled into the emergency visitor parking and came to a rather aggressive halt. All four clambered out and ran toward the entrance. 

"Hello, sirs, how can I help you?" The lady at the front desk smiled at them. 

"We have a—a friend, he was just brought here by ambulance," Jeongin breathed. 

"I see. I can direct you to the emergency section, but you won't be allowed in."

"That's..." Chan inhaled and exhaled to control his trembling jaw. "That's fine."

"Alright. You're gonna go down the hall and to the right. Follow that hall until you get to the last corridor on the left, that's where the visitor room is for the ER." 

"Thank you, ma'am," Woojin said, tugging on Chan's hand to get him moving. 

Jeongin sniffed, and Changbin grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together in a protective manner. 

They watched Felix roll by. A bunch of doctors were pushing the gurney at top speed, and there was a doctor on top, squeezing a bag, pushing air into Felix's lungs, as another one knelt by, doing compressions. 

He was so pale that Changbin could count every freckle on his face. 

Minho came up behind them, tugging on Jisung's hand, Hyunjin and Seungmin close behind. He stood next to Jeongin, breathing hard, watching through the glass as they put Felix on a bed. They pushed him into another room, this one blocked off. 

Jeongin sat down and began to let the tears fall. Changbin sat next to him and held him close. 

"Hyung," Seungmin whispered, speaking to no one in particular. "Hyungie, I'm scared." 

Hyunjin let out a shaky exhale and tucked him into a hug. "It's gonna be okay." 

"Babe, stand up. Come over to a chair," Woojin said to Chan, who had collapsed to the ground, his head in his hands.

"I don't... I don't understand," Jisung whispered, his lip trembling. Minho squeezed his hand, a tear tracking its way down his cheek. 

A nurse came out to talk to them. "Are you here for Felix-ssi?" 

"Ye-yes," Changbin stuttered, standing up. 

"All eight of you?" Her brow furrowed. 

"Yes."

"Okay... uh, can I talk to the two people closest to him?"

Woojin pushed Changbin and Chan forward. "I'll wait here."

The nurse nodded and took them down the hall. "Are either of you a guardian?" 

"Of sorts," Chan said. "I'm his older brother. Our parents are still in Australia."

The nurse nodded. "And you, sir?" 

"I'm his b-boyfriend." Changbin clenched his jaw so the nurse couldn't see his lip quake. 

She blinked a couple of times, before nodding and writing the information on her clipboard. "Okay. I'm going to run through the diagnosis with you. With the symptoms that he—"

"Nurse Choi, you're needed in the surgery room!" Another nurse came running up. 

"Already? Shit!" She handed the clipboard to her colleague and gave a quick bow to Chan and Changbin, tearing down the hall. 

The other nurse looked down at the paper. "I’m sorry for her unprofessionalism. Of course, you understand, pressure and deadlines and things like th—" 

Chan nodded and rotated his hand by his side. 

"Right, so I'll pick up where nurse Choi left off." He flipped the top sheet, looking at the one underneath. "Okay. Yes. So. Felix-ssi has a pulmonary embolism."

Chan winced, and Changbin's eyes widened. 

"We did an ultrasound, and found the clot, and he's currently undergoing emergency surgery to have it removed." 

"Is there—" Changbin cleared his throat. "What's his prognosis?" 

"Assuming we can get the clot out of his lungs, pretty good. However, he has... he has already gone into sudden cardiac arrest. Twice."

Silence filled the little hall. 

"You can sa-save him, right?" Chan sniffed. 

"We have been able to so far. The crash cart is right next to him if we need it, okay?" 

Changbin bit the inside of his cheek and nodded slowly. "Thank you," he managed. 

"I'll update you if anything else happens." 

Chan nodded and thanked him as well, and he bowed to them both and walked away. 

They walked back to the others. 

Chan inhaled deeply. "You should all go home. I'll stay here with Binnie."

"I don't want to go," Jeongin pleaded. Tears were forming in his eyes as he looked up at Changbin, who's heart melted.

"How about Seungmin, Hyunjin, Minho, and Jisung go?" Woojin said, squeezing the back of Chan's neck. "That way we have people looking after the house and people waiting for Felix when he wakes up." 

Minho nodded. "I think that sounds like a good idea." He wiped a stray tear from the tip of his nose. "Come on, guys." 

The four who were leaving gave short hugs to the others. 

Nobody slept the rest of the night. 

***

Seungmin pulled Hyunjin into bed and hugged him like a koala and didn't let go. Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him, also without the intention of letting go. Each had a wet patch on his shirt, but neither commented on it. 

***

Jisung and Minho spent the night curled against one another on the floor in the living room. Minho had his arms around the younger, his hands sliding up his shirt to pull him closer still, and Jisung had Minho's shirt clutched in his fists the whole night.

***

Woojin pulled Chan closer to him. Neither of them were going to fall asleep any time soon, so there they stayed, Woojin massaging the back of Chan's neck to calm him down, sitting on the floor of the guest waiting room, staring forlornly at the glass. There were silent tears racing down both's cheeks. It was a long night. 

***

Changbin held an openly crying Jeongin on his lap. He sat criss cross, rocking them both back and forth, until he could feel Jeongin near sleep. "You were so brave, Jeonginnie," he would whisper every once in a while. "So brave." Jeongin stayed near sleep, but he shifted every once in a while, letting Changbin know he wasn't yet asleep. Changbin's eyes stayed wide open, the image of Felix, pale as death, being rushed away staying in his mind. Each time he blinked, he could see the blood streaming out of his boyfriend's mouth, his limbs twitching. Changbin's chin shook, and he bit his lip, a shudder going down his spine. "Oh, Felix," he whispered, so quietly not even Jeongin heard him. "Please be alright." He buried his nose in Jeongin's neck. He prayed to any god who would listen that Felix was okay. 

Just as everything had been going right, everything went horribly wrong.

**Author's Note:**

> So. 
> 
> Did you make it through? 
> 
> That was my first fic!! What did you think? I might write a second part, depending on if there’s feedback or nah. 
> 
> I’m high key freaking out, I’ve finally made it to AO3 and I just 
> 
> Thank you for reading this, the fic or the notes or the fic AND the notes. It means a lot to me. 
> 
> Anyway. I’ll stop ranting. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated! *mwah* 
> 
> Ahhhh


End file.
